Passaggio in the Professional Tenor Voice—Evaluation of Perturbation Measures

Purpose Vocal stability throughout the passaggio region in professional singers is an unclarified area of research. Method The acoustic and electroglottographic signals of ascending and descending frequency transitions from 220 to 440آ Hz (and vice versa) on the vowels /a, e, i, o, u, أ¦/ were analyzed in eight professional tenors. The frequency transitions were accompanied by shifts in register conditions, from modal to unmodulated naأ¯ve falsetto and modal to voix mixte (and vice versa). Results For ascending tasks, it was found that frequency perturbation values (jitter and relative average perturbation) were higher for the frequency transition and upper frequency produced in naأ¯ve falsetto or voix mixte compared with lower frequency produced in modal register. No such higher values were found for descending tasks. Shimmer was increased during frequency transitions between modal and naأ¯ve falsetto. The electroglottographic contact quotient showed a positive correlation with the sound pressure level for the modal register and voix mixte but not for the naأ¯ve falsetto. Conclusion In our study, ascending tasks, including register transitions, are different from descending tasks with regard to frequency perturbation in professional tenors.